CORONAVIRUS fears have led to a surge in people buying protective masks to shield themselves from the virus - this measure has been implemented in the past, as archive photographs reveal.

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Coronavirus has now infected more than 1,540 people and led to the deaths of 55 in the UK alone, as of Tuesday afternoon. Fear about the pandemic has led many to race to the shops to purchase hand sanitisers, toilet roll and protective masks. This is not the first time Britons and others across the world have taken such precautions. Notably towards the end of World War 1, the ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic led to the deaths of between 50 and 100 million people. At the time, people wore facial masks during everyday activities to reduce their chance of catching the virus.